Cunima students kill man in drunken row

Police in Chiradzulu have launched investigations into the death of a villager who was allegedly beaten to death by students from Catholic University of Malawi (Cunima) near the college campus.

The villager is reported to have picked a quarrel with one of the students at a proximate drinking joint on Friday night after mistakenly picking his beer bottle.

Montfort Police Unit officer-in-charge Peter Chikwemba said on Monday, two Cunima students have so far been arrested in connection to the murder.

Chikwemba identified the deceased as 36-year-old Dan Kachingwe from Njovu Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Changata in Thyolo District, but was a resident of Masikini Village, which is adjacent to Cunima campus.

He said: “We arrested two students Sunday afternoon and one more today and there is one more suspect we are yet to arrest as investigations are still going on, so I cannot divulge their identities at this point.”

Chikwemba said post-mortem results revealed that the deceased died due to head injuries and loss of blood.

The incident occurred when the college was preparing for its ninth graduation ceremony where 161 went home with diplomas and degrees in various fields.

After beating him up, the students reportedly dragged the deceased in his unconscious state and dumped him near a bottle store before some well-wishers took him to Nguludi Mission Hospital where he died.

Cunima registrar Nelson Mavumbe was non-committal when contacted for comment referring The Nation to police.

He said: “All I know is that the police are investigating something to that effect so they would be the right people to comment.”